


Tents and Sleeping Bags

by Dank_Files



Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 15:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7513748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dank_Files/pseuds/Dank_Files
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place after season 4 episode 2 "Home"<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	Tents and Sleeping Bags

They couldn't believe it- well, Scully could. They were stuck at a summer camp with bratty kids for the night. Their rental car had broken down not too far from where all the cabins were. 

“You'll be free to go by the morning so don't worry.” One of the camp counselors named ‘Cindy’ had helped them out a bit. 

“Not worried, just tired.” Scully replied as she stared at the dirt beneath her shoes. 

“I hope it’s no trouble, really.” Mulder smiled at the counselor, Who couldn't have been any more than 17 or 18.

“Of course not! We have an extra tent and maybe about 3 sleeping bags. We use them when we stray from the site for longer activities like fishing.” She smiled at the both of them and lead them to the counselor's cabin where she gave them the tent and two of the sleeping bags. 

“Thank you, we really appreciate it.” Scully returned the smile and grabbed the two sleeping bags. 

“Yeah, thanks.” Mulder grabbed the tent.

“Hey, the kids are going around and telling stories of you want to join them.” Cindy gave them a little nudge and walked out of the cabin. 

“Come on Scully, it'll be spooooky.” He wiggled his fingers in her face and grinned. 

“I guess it couldn't hurt.” She tried to be annoyed but instead she let a half smile creep from her face. 

They quickly caught up to Cindy and joined her in one of the cabins where all the kids had gathered. They sat Indian style in a circle with a lantern in the middle. 

“We have room!” A young boy called out. He gestured them to a spot where they both criss-crossed their legs. if the circle was just a tad tighter, Scully would practically be sitting in Mulder’s lap. 

“Come on, Scully! It can't be that bad.” He smiled and gave her arm a light squeeze. 

They took their spots in the circle and listened to all of the stories the kids had to tell. One boy told a story about a group of teenager getting trapped in a haunted house. Another told of a young girl who would see visions of her dead grandfather. 

“And then,” the boy said. “The grandfather told her not to worry because they'd be together in no time. Then, like, a few days later the girl dies.”

Mulder listened to each story with undivided attention. Despite the seriously warped stories, Scully managed to smile. She couldn't remember a time when she felt this much like a kid. She was so carefree and being that way was probably scarier than any story a kid could tell. 

“OK, kids! It's lights out!” A male counselor was here this time. “Agents you can… set up, I guess.” 

They arose and Mulder grabbed their camping material. “Thanks.”

***

Mulder led the way and Scully followed. He found a spot that wasn't too far from the cabins.

“Mulder, do you even know how to pitch a tent?” Scully stood with her arms folded. 

“Scullyyyy!” He looked her in the eyes and laughed. “Come on! I know I may seem like some spooky conspiracy nut but I know a few things about survival.”

It took him a good two hours to pitch the tent. “Listen, Scully, I swear I knew how to do this.” He rambled on about being an excellent “outdoorsman” and that he was just tired. 

“Is this male stupidity doing anything at all for you, Scully?” He had asked in the midst of finishing the last of it. 

“Boy, I can hardly contain my excitement,” she said as sarcastically as she could. He shot her a warm and soft look before exhaling in relief.

“Well it looks like we're all set.” He gestured for her to enter first. “After you.” He curtsied and all, pretending like they weren't about to be crammed in a tent together for hours. 

“Just grab the sleeping bags.” Even though she scoffed, there was a hint of amusement. Mulder grabbed them and followed inside. 

“Wow talk about cramped, huh?” Mulder tried his hand at breaking the elephant in the room- or tent in this case. 

“I think at this point cramped is an understanding considering how tall you are.” Even though she was slightly upset, she couldn't say she didn't expect anything less. 

“Oh come on! It's not that bad.” he gave her a little nudge. “Let's just talk- yknow, get to know more about each other.”

“You're my partner, what more do you need to know about me?”

“Well, what do you do when you're not working a case?”

She paused. Man, what did she do when they weren't on a case? “I read mostly… and I go on walks.”

“Really? Is that all you do?” He was puzzled. He thought surely a beautiful woman like herself would have the guys lined up for dates. 

“Okay well what about you Mr. Popularity?” She tilted her head to the side and looked at her partner, sitting next to her with his long legs crossed. 

He dropped his eyes and cleared his throat. “Well,” he began. “I search. I search for Samantha and follow any and all leads.”

“Oh.” She felt horrible. She knew him possibly better than anyone but for a split second she had forgotten. She had forgotten the force that kept him going. She had forgotten that no matter what, he had to search for the truth. He had to believe. 

“What do you like to read?” He asked, trying to get rid of the stiffness in the air. 

“Breakfast at Tiffany's. Mostly things like that.” Mulder kept his head down. 

“Mmm…” He kept his head down but she could see a small smile forming on his face. “Movies?”

“Oh you know- Some Like It Hot, How To Marry a Millionaire, A Streetcar Named Desire, the classics.” He chuckled and turned to look her in the eyes. 

“Somehow I expected that from you.” He placed a hand on her knee and she smiled back at him and lowered her gaze.

“What about you?” She asked back. 

“You know those tapes that aren't mine?”

“Mulder!” Scully hit him on the shoulder but kept her hand there and squeezed. There was a clear tension there and neither one wanted to address the nature of it.

Mulder thought she looked the most beautiful when she was tired. That meant she was vulnerable. He wouldn't dare say it out loud, though there were times he wanted to. ‘I mean we've only known each other for four years,’ he thought. 

Scully had admitted to herself and to her best friend that she thought he was cute. At the time, of course, she didn't think that much of it. Now, oh God now, he couldn't have been more perfect. She could barely see his face but yet his eyes still gleamed. 

“Umm, well hey you must be cold.” Mulder wasn't about to be the one who broke contact. 

“What?” It suddenly occurred to her that they never unrolled the sleeping bags. “Oh. I suppose we should go to sleep, it seems pretty late.”

“Mhm.” He thought about doing it; he really thought about kissing her right there. Her hand was still on his shoulder, she was still looking at him, they were so close… but he didn't; he simply handed her a sleeping bag. Their staring fell to the ground and she removed her hand. 

There was no easy way to lay down in a small tent. It was less difficult for Scully considering she was shorter, but Mulder’s long legs were a problem. They could not lay there without being unbelievably close to each other. Neither of them could sleep. 

“Scully?”

“Yes Mulder?”

“What would you do right now if a UFO came to this particular summer camp?” They were facing the same direction which meant Mulder was staring at the back of her head. 

“Nothing,” she sighed. 

“Nothing? What do you mean?”

“It would never happen because aliens don't exist.”

“But how do you know?” He questioned her. 

“There's no tangible evidence, no proof.” She was a woman of science. When it came to her job she needed the proof. 

“Aliens are real and one beat me up in a government lab,” Mulder protested.

Silence. 

“Mulder, shut up.” They broke out into a frenzy of laughter, and for once in a very long time they were both happy. 

“You're one spooky FBI agent.” She finally managed to say. Normally if someone called him that he'd be upset, but not her. 

“Well you're my partner. Doesn't that make you Mrs. Spooky?” She paused before rolling over to look at him.

“I guess it does.” 

“So when are we picking out our furniture? I say we go with warm colors.” He chuckled and ran his hand down her room. 

“Oh brother,” she said as she rolled back around. “Why don't you go to sleep?”

“I rarely sleep. I'm fine.” This made her feel slightly bad. She wondered how many days he'd gone without sleep at a time. 

“Mulder, you really should try.”

“It's okay, you go ahead. I'll keep watch.”

“For what?”

“Those dangerous 12 year olds in the cabins.” Just like that, he had her laughing again. It was like music to his ears. 

“You're right, they are pretty vicious.” She jokingly replied. 

“Scully?”

“Yes?”

“Are you cold?” She was visibly shaking but she probably didn't even notice it. 

“I'm fine.” 

“You know,” he started. “Body heat is the best way to cure coldness.”

“I don't think you're that lucky yet.” He raised his eyebrows at her response. 

“Yet?”

“Well, I mean,” she was stumbling on her words- which amused him. “Yknow it's- it's not that cold, really, I'm OK.”

“Hypothermia is a serious thing, Scully.” He clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. 

“First of all, how dare you?” She sat herself up on her knees to look at him. “Second of all, shut up.”

He laughed and sat up too. “So are we just gonna pretend here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Are we going to pretend you don't find me devilishly handsome?” Her mouth fell open, forming words that she could not speak. “Or are we going to pretend I don't find you insanely beautiful?”

“Mulder-” 

“Come on, Scully.” He cut her off. “It's okay to have hidden desires for your FBI partner with a spotless genetic makeup.” He chuckled to seem less serious, even though he meant it. 

“Hidden desires?” She questioned. “Despite what you may think, I don't have any.” 

She lied. 

“Really?” Mulder moved closer so he was centimeters away from her face. Scully could feel the extra body heat and suddenly she wasn't cold anymore. 

“Really.” It came out as barely a whisper. 

His hand settled on the back of her neck while the other brushed her hair behind her ears. Her chest was heaving up and down as she tried to control her breathing. He ran his hand from her neck, to her shoulder, down her arm and settled on her thigh. 

“You live by science and numbers,” he started to say. “What is the probability of me kissing you and you kissing back?”

“We'd have to run a few tests.” She exhaled as he kissed her shoulder and made his way up to her neck. He lingered before moving up to her face. He looked at her, as if to ask if she was sure.

She nodded. 

Gradually he tilted his head and leaned in further. She met him halfway, sealing the kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair as it got slightly more aggressive. Their tongues were touching as he ran his hands up and down her back. 

He kissed her neck some more, softly, and she threw her head back in pleasure. She knew they shouldn't had been doing this but after four years of sexual tension she didn't want to stop him. Mulder had wanted this from the beginning- ever since that day they were standing in that graveyard while the rain poured down on them. He would've kissed her then, but it was too early to tell if she was interested. So he waited. 

“Scully?” He asked through the kissing and touching. 

“Yes, Mulder?”

“Don't put this in the field report.”


End file.
